


The Hanger

by DeckofDragons



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, M/M, One shot but I might continue it, The Exisal Hanger, general sadness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:35:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25065520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeckofDragons/pseuds/DeckofDragons
Summary: Kaito and Kokichi agree to be friends at the end.
Relationships: Momota Kaito/Oma Kokichi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 86





	The Hanger

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a long while ago as the first chapter of a VR AU Oumota fic. I wrote 5 and a half chapters before I drifted away for reasons I can't remember. But I looked over it again recently purely on a whim and I actually really like most of what I had so I'm considering going back and finishing it. I can't promise anything though so we'll see. But since I like what I wrote and because this first chapter can easily stand on its own as a sad one shot, I decided to go ahead and upload it.

The hydraulic press hummed loudly as it lowered. It took all of Kaito’s self-control to lie still and keep his eyes closed. What if Kokichi passed out from the poison and couldn’t stop it in time? What if the emergency stop button didn’t work?

But just when it seemed he could _feel_ it above him, weighing down on him without even touching him, it stopped. Heavy silence filled the air as he let out a long breath.

“’Kay, you can… move now.” Kokichi voice was strained, possibly even more than it had been before Kaito had gotten under the press.

Kaito slid out from underneath the press, careful not to move the jacket beneath him too much lest the little bit of it visible in the video jumped places and gave away their trick. He didn’t dare open his eyes until he was all the way out and straightening.

Kokichi was just stepping down from the control platform. He was pale and sweating, his face drawn with anguish.

“You okay?” Kaito asked and _immediately_ wanted to kick himself. He’d asked a lot of dumb questions in his day but that had to be dumbest.

“Oh, I’m doing just fine, thank you,” Kokichi replied with a good facsimile of a smile that would’ve fooled Kaito under different circumstances. How many of his prior smiles had been false too? Considering what he’d said upon Kaito questioning the reason for his plan about how it’d had all been act, he actually _hated_ the killing the game, it was very possible that almost _every_ smile of his had been false.

“Sorry.” No amount of ‘sorry’ would ever make any of this okay. Kokichi was _dying_ , if Kaito didn’t kill him with the press, the poison would. He’d had the antidote but he’d given it to Kaito, dooming himself. Would Kaito have been able to do the same in his position? Sacrifice himself to save someone who’d considered him an enemy even for a plan like this. He… didn’t know. One thing he did know for sure though was… “I’m sorry for how all this turned out and… for how awful I treated you.”

“Don’t be, I set myself up as your enemy on purpose. You and all the others were supposed to hate me otherwise none of this would’ve worked.” And at the end of this plan of his, he was going to die a gruesome death. The others would all hate him even more for it too. Could anything be more tragic?

“I don’t hate you, I never did.” Kaito didn’t have it in him to hate someone. He’d just… let the stress of everything get to him. That was no excuse, he was supposed to encourage _everybody_ and get them all to work as a team but it was all so _much_. So… he’d played favourites and only helped a small number of people. He didn’t regret how much time he’d spent with them but… he should’ve done more for the others, Kokichi included even if he did often go out of his way to be antagonistic. It was too late now though, Kokichi was dying and Kaito didn’t have much longer left himself; the taste of blood in his mouth now seemed permanent.

One last thing he did have time for though was… “I’d like to consider you a friend if that’s okay?” He held out a hand.

Kokichi stared at it before looking up to meet his eyes. “Getting all sappy because I’m dying, huh? But all right, sure, we can be friends. No reason not to, I’m choosing to trust you with my plan after all.” His hand was hot and sweaty in Kaito’s as they shook, sealing the deal. And it might’ve just been Kaito’s imagination it also seemed to be shaking a little. Pain, fear, or both? It was hard to guess.

“Now,” Kokichi said as they let go, “can… can I have one last request?”

“Uh… sure.” There wasn’t much Kaito could do for him but as long as it was within his ability to do, he’d gladly do it.

“Regardless of how our plan turns out, whether it fails or succeeds, once you step out of the Exisal and reveal it to them could you… remind everyone that I’m a liar?”

“Why?”

“Because I… want them to remember me as a liar and a sneak, not some poor little misunderstood sad boy to be pitied because I died a tragic death trying to save everyone.” He scowled at the thought as if being pitied was far worse than being hated. … Which well, made sense. Kaito wasn’t sure if he shared that sentiment but he understood it so…

“Sure, I’ll make sure to remind everyone you’re a liar.” In his heart he’d known the truth though and would never forget it.

“Thanks,” Kokichi whispered as he turned back towards the press. He got under it silently and carefully.

With a grimace, Kaito turned towards the control platform. He only got a single step before a soft sob behind him froze him in his tracks. He turned back towards the press and knelt down bedside it so he could see Kokichi better. His brave mask had finally broken as he stared down his impending death inches above him. Tears leaked from his eyes as he shook.

Kaito took his hand, gently squeezing it. What words could he possibly offer in comfort? They were _high school students_ for fuck’s sake, death was not something people as young as them should be facing, especially death like _this_. It was wrong and unjust on _so_ many levels and there was _nothing_ Kaito could do about it.

“I… don’t want to die,” Kokichi choked out in a whisper, squeezing Kaito’s hand.

“I know.” Kaito didn’t want to die either. At least he still had some time left… not much though. “You’re not alone though, I’m here.” It was the _only_ comfort he could offer.

There was long moment of silence, broken only by another soft sob, before Kokichi answered with a whisper. “T-thank you.”

“You… you want to… let the poison do it.” It wouldn’t make a difference if he was… crushed _after_ he died, right? No one would be able to tell the difference. And that way Kaito could stay by his side until the very end.

Kokichi let out another soft sob. “Can’t… risk it. We’ve already taken so much time… discussing everything and setting it all up. We don’t know how… long before the electro-bomb wears off.”

“You sure?”

“Yes and… i-it’ll be over faster.” That… didn’t sound like it truly appealed to him. On the brink of death even his ability to lie was crumbling. “Just… _promise_ you won’t let my death be for nothing, _please_.”

“I promise.”

They were silent for a few minutes while Kokichi steeled himself again. Or tried to, he wasn’t doing a great job at it and who could blame him for that? He as slowly dying of poison, about to get crushed to death, Kaito wouldn’t have been able to pretend to be okay with that for even a few seconds let alone how long Kokichi had been keeping up the act for.

But he eventually let go of Kaito’s hand. “Do it. Don’t hesitate. And don’t forget the camera.” His voice was firmer than it had any right to be even if the look on his face and tears leaking from his eyes betrayed it.

“All right uh…” Kaito straightened. “Good bye.” People in movies and books always seemed to regret not having wished their friends or family farewell before they died so he’d at least have that, right? Not that he’d have long to be haunted by this – a small mercy that came with his own impending death via terminal illness – but he had to say something.

“Good bye,” Kokichi replied, his voice nearly inaudible, a few seconds later as Kaito headed up the control platform. He almost turned back towards him but… there was nothing more that could be said or done. It was best to just get it over with, end his suffering and pack everything up before the electro-bomb’s effects wore off.

At the top of the control platform, Kaito felt almost sick as he looked at the controls and camera. Was he _really_ about to press a single button and… end Kokichi’s life? That just wasn’t right. Things weren’t supposed to work like that. How could he possibly…

“Don’t hesitate,” he whispered to himself as he put one hand on the record button on the camera, the other over the button that would send the press down. With a deep breath, he pressed them both at the same time.

The press’ hum resumed, much quieter from up here but still filling the heavy silence and thankfully drowning out any further sounds of sobbing Kokichi might’ve made. Kaito didn’t want to watch but… at the same time he couldn’t look away. He couldn’t see Kokichi from this angle, the press was too low, but… this was the closest thing he could get to being there for him in his final moments, right?

So, he watched the press, already so low, lower further. It settled home with a sound somewhere between a wet pop and a crunch followed a half second later by the clang of metal meeting metal. Blood sprayed out from under it like a large water balloon filled with red paint had burst. And just like that, Kokichi Ouma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader, was no more. All that was left of him was smooshed flat as pancake under the press and the splash of blood that had escaped it.

Hands and face numb, Kaito stopped the recording and packed up the camera and its tripod. Then he set about, preparing the rest of the crime scene; cutting the cord to the control platform and double check to make sure nothing remained that’d give hint to what they’d done.

The tears didn’t hit until he was hidden safely away in the Exisal. He hunched in on himself as he let out a shaky sob that turned into a painful cough. He wanted to curl up in a ball but the pilot seat didn’t allow for it. So he sat there and cried into the spare jacket Kokichi brought for him way earlier that day – felt like a lifetime ago – that he’d grabbed before entering the Exisal without even thinking about it.

Eventually his tears petered out, leaving him feeling empty and hollow. He’d have to get his act together for the trial tomorrow but that was hours away. And he was alone so he could allow himself to feel miserable for not just having killed Kokichi but _everything_ that had happened since the start of this killing game. All the suffering and heartache they’d all been through for… _what_ purpose? … None, right? There was no good reason for any of this… and yet so many of them had died for it… and Kaito had killed someone because of it. No more though, this was the end. It _had_ to be.


End file.
